Electability

While watching the South Carolina Republican "debate" on Faux News, I was rather taken aback by a question from one of the status-quo cheerleaders ... ahem ... moderators, who asked Ron Paul about his electability. On the surface, this may have seemed like an appropriate question. After all, the purpose of elections is to win, and it does make sense to think about whether or not a candidate will be able to win in the general election. But when one looks a bit deeper at the whole purpose of elections, there's a more important issue to consider -- namely whether or not the candidate in question is seeing the world realistically.

The unfortunate necessity of trying to sway voters often leads to strategies that one finds in the business of advertising: selling a product regardless of its actual quality or value. When candidates become solely focused upon electability, the campaign shifts from a serious discussion of issues, values and philosophy to a slick, canned, packaged contest to see who can pander to prejudice, ignorance, and emotion. And this is perhaps the greatest threat to constitutional government and liberty in the United States today.

Is Ron Paul "electable"? I would argue that there's a far more important question voters should be considering: "Is Ron Paul right?"

What did Ron Paul say tonight? I think a fair summary might be as follows:

• Government manipulation of the economy doesn't work and hasn't worked.


• The Constitution is important as a whole -- not just when it's popular.


• The 9th and 10th Amendments are just as important as the 1st and 2nd Amendments (not to mention the 4th and 5th Amendments).


• Empires always fall when they overextend themselves.


• Our interventionist foreign policy not only costs too many lives and far too much money, but is hasn't worked in the past, it doesn't work now, and it won't work in the future.


• Poverty is not vanquished by throwing money at the problem and pandering to interest groups. Poverty is only reduced when individuals make good decisions and are personally responsible for their actions.


• Providing incentives out of the public treasury for illegal immigrants to stream into the United States encourages them to keep streaming in.


• We have strayed - greatly - from the founding principles of the United States: limited government, individual rights, private property and the rule of law.

While I realize that many people are far more impressed by a candidate who looks good, smiles nicely, and amuses them -- they should really be asking themselves if Ron Paul is correct in his assessment of our current situation.

This is my challenge to my fellow citizens. Rise above the beauty contest that the networks and "focus groups" call politics. Don't fall prey to the emotional manipulations and shallow populism that passes for "debate". Ideology is not an inherently bad thing, especially when one retains enough of a critical mind to reconsider one's comfortable assumptions. To paraphrase one of my favorite authors, reality cannot be altered by a wish, but it can destroy the wisher.

Ron Paul is right. That's why you should vote for him.